In all my short jaunts throughout the years to locales near and far within the U.S., never have I considered myself actually to be traveling in the true sense of the word. I go on vacations, I go away for long weekends, I go to visit family. But travel? Not unless I’ve got my passport with me.
Then I overheard someone ask an acquaintance of mine if he was going to be around for the Thanksgiving holidays.”No, I’m traveling,” he replied. Traveling? I thought to myself. He’s going to New Jersey.
A few months later, I began preparing for my own upcoming trip. Destination: Colorado. I am merely going on a short vacation to visit family, I thought. Or am I? As I surfed the internet flight sites, the snippet of conversation I’d heard months earlier popped up in my mind. My acquaintance had simply gone on a half-day road trip across state lines and considered himself to be traveling. I’d be flying across the country, from endless beaches and rolling hills of green to mile-high mountains that rise out of the sandy desert. I would be experiencing not only very different sights but different people, different lifestyles…perhaps a different culture of sorts. As I prepared to fly several hours only to land on American soil, I asked myself, “Is this really traveling?”
When I was studying in Germany many years ago, I jumped on a train almost every weekend. I got back off the train anywhere in Europe. I had no doubt I was traveling then, even though my apartment was just hours by land from wherever I ended up. The trips or vacations I take in the U.S. have always differed, though, in my opinion, from true travel in that I go away not to learn and experience and grow in the world but rather to relax, to get away, to visit people.
Travelling Domestically Does Take Us Different Places…
No matter where our permanent home, I realize, if we travel for just a few hours we’ll arrive at sights that don’t fill our eyes every day. Even if our destination is similar to what we temporarily left behind – from one small town to another small town, one city to another city – that destination is unique and gives us at least a little opportunity to experience something new.
Also, sometimes we go on trips within the confines of our own country not for the purpose of relaxing on a vacation but to experience what our destination holds, just as we do when we leave the country. Maybe these trips can be classified as real travel too, I start to think. What is a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park if not to experience beauty and wildlife unseen elsewhere? Why do millions of people fly into New York City each year if not to be a part of a city unlike any other on earth?
Visiting domestic locales that differ very greatly from our own, we might even feel that we’ve stepped into somewhat of another culture. People’s dress can vary a great deal from region to region, from the fashion-panicked East Coast to the more relaxed dress of the Mid West to the western styles found in the South. A great contrast can be seen in attitude and behavior too, from aggressive, fast-paced New Yorkers to exquisitely polite, laid back residents of the large and open Western states.
But…
Here in the States, there’s no experiencing the awesome “Wow” moments that almost stop us in our tracks when we realize we are walking down streets thousands of years old. We’re never completely surrounded by a different language, leaving us to communicate with expressions and gestures. We’re don’t have eye-opening interchanges with people about how our ways differ from theirs.
What Do You Think?
Does traveling within your own home country carry the same weight as traveling abroad, in your mind? Can you have culturally rich experiences when you travel within your own land? Or can a real education about people, lifestyles, and cultures be found only outside of your own borders?
Yeah, I agree attitude can turn what would be just another dull trip close to the homefront into a fairly exciting getaway. It occurred to the other day that maybe simply visiting different parts of or different sights in places I usually go can give me a quite a new experience and possibly a new outlook on the place. So Monday I decided to go to a borough in New York City where I’ve never been before and…what do you know? It was quite an exciting and interesting trip! Not that New York City isn’t exciting and interesting in and of itself, but this was something different.
Maybe “different” is something we can look for when we travel domestically, in order to better pique our interest.
This has been weighing on my mind lately as well, since I realized I hasn’t considered jaunts around Texas real traveling. The exception of that was when I made a point to do a road trip to Big Bend and see things I had never seen before, Couchsurfing the whole time. It was still a bit shallow when I considered my experiences across the Pacific, but not empty by any means.
Before you make a trip, just put the idea into your head that you are abroad taking a little travel time to a new destination – plan where you want to go, find international hangouts (if any), and live like a dharma bum if you so choose.
I guess we should all get jobs as domestic travel guides to appreciate it more.
This is a question I’ve often asked myself. Yes, I agree that it depends on one’s view of what travel is. From the point of view of an American, large expanses of America can be thought of as homogenized insofar as the burbs are pretty much all the same (by design, of course!) and I don’t generally count them as new experiences.
But even the burbs can hold some surprises, like when I rode around in a pickup truck with a SWAT team that was shooting nutria in the canals of the New Orleans suburbs.
Sure, the differences you can find when traveling in, say, rural Panama versus the average American neighborhood can be quite striking (invoking the Wow factor, perhaps). The differences as someone travels from US state to US state, or even from Queens ‘hood to another Queens ‘hood, might not be as large, but that does not mean that they are not as inherently interesting, depending on your outlook. One of Bryson’s most famous books, The Lost Continent, would not have been so popular if people didn’t enjoy reading about truly American experiences as he traveled around the country, complaining about the hegemony of strip malls and showcasing rural gas station attendants with warts on their faces. You could say he was given lemons, and he chose to make lemonade.
I think it’s all about how a traveler wants to tune in to a place. I agree with Koan that if you don’t look to learn, then all bets are off regardless of physical location.
This might be considered “responsible traveling” in these times…considering you’d be stimulating your own economy.
In Australia, they are giving anyone who’s filled out a tax return last year a large chunk of money – a stimulus package – to go and spend. The funny thing is, a lot of people have, in a survey, said with flights so cheap these days, they are going on vacation to another country!
These “stimulus packages” are BS! (I do like “free” money though)
Thanks for responding, Carlo and Eva! I’m akin to your Canadian countrymen, Eva. I hear people saying they want to explore all of the U.S. before they head overseas. And I think “Why? That’s boring.”
I’m a big believer in domestic travel as important for learning, growing, etc. – for one thing because here in Canada at least, I don’t think we do nearly enough of it. There’s a big, diverse country to explore, and plenty of Canucks head straight for Europe without checking out their own (enormous) backyard first. Same goes for some Americans, I’m guessing!
I guess I don’t really think of myself as “traveling” if I am really just visiting relatives and not exploring their location (although I almost never do things that way anymore…) but I’ve also done plenty of domestic trips where I travel the same way I would overseas, and those definitely “count” in my book.
I agree with koan – it really depends on your definition of travel. I like to think of it as more than just physical movement, but a way of thinking and seeing the world. I don’t think there are different “degrees” of travel – that if you leave the country you are in some way traveling “more” than if you took the train across town to the Italian quarter.
“Wow” moments can be experienced anywhere. Something doesn’t have to be grand, or old, or “the biggest in the world” to have “wow” in it. It might take a little more thought and deliberation, but we can always find something of interest and learn anywhere we are, which I think is what travel is: learning.
Saying that, I guess I wouldn’t be telling people I was traveling when I go to Chinatown. But then that has to do more with other people’s definition of travel and me fitting into their paradigms so they don’t think I’m a weirdo.
I “travel” every time I log into Matador and read blogs and articles. Every time I write an article I am traveling, at least in my mind.
Thank you, you guys, for your thoughtful replies! I’ve been thinking that maybe another reason I’ve always considered overseas travel the only real travel is because I simply like exploring other countries more than my own…
Good question. I certainly wouldn’t knock States-centric travel–there are places where you can get those feelings of timeless grandeur, where you can be completely surrounded by a language other than English (my hometown of San Antonio is one of them), and where you can learn about new cultures.
All that aside, the feeling of domestic travel simply isn’t as weighty as that of globetrotting in my mind.
Interesting question, and I have two main points as to why I believe that you don’t need to go international to be traveling.
First, according to your own definition, true ‘travel’ is going somewhere ‘to learn and experience and grow,’
I most certainly hope that you can learn and have new experiences and grow without needing to drastically change your physical location. New experiences and opportunities for growth meet us around every corner. I have learned as much hiking in the Rockies just a couple miles from my apartment as I have hiking the Alps and the Andes.
Second, one of your main requirements for that travel experience is dealing with a different culture.
Culture is an extremely broad term, but anthropologist currently basically try to define it as a way of thinking, the ‘why’ behind someone’s actions and behaviors (their actual definitions are usually about a page long, but this gets the gist of it).
You can absolutely experience a different way of life from your own without changing countries. No one can tell me that someone from New Jersey and someone from Texas have the same way of thinking. Some basics are the same, but some basics are the same no matter how different the cultures are. The only thing you aren’t dealing with is a different language, although even that is somewhat debatable. And if language is a defining point, then going to the UK or Australia or New Zealand wouldn’t be considered travel either.
En fin, I think that what defines travel isn’t so much the location as it is your own mindset. If you go somewhere with an open mind and open eyes, looking for opportunities to learn, you hardly have to leave your own city to have a culturally rich travel experience. If you don’t look to learn, you can visit the seven continents and all their peoples and never once ‘travel.’
Sabina Lohr said on April 17, 2009
Yeah, I agree attitude can turn what would be just another dull trip close to the homefront into a fairly exciting getaway. It occurred to the other day that maybe simply visiting different parts of or different sights in places I usually go can give me a quite a new experience and possibly a new outlook on the place. So Monday I decided to go to a borough in New York City where I’ve never been before and…what do you know? It was quite an exciting and interesting trip! Not that New York City isn’t exciting and interesting in and of itself, but this was something different.
Maybe “different” is something we can look for when we travel domestically, in order to better pique our interest.
Turner Wright said on April 17, 2009
This has been weighing on my mind lately as well, since I realized I hasn’t considered jaunts around Texas real traveling. The exception of that was when I made a point to do a road trip to Big Bend and see things I had never seen before, Couchsurfing the whole time. It was still a bit shallow when I considered my experiences across the Pacific, but not empty by any means.
Before you make a trip, just put the idea into your head that you are abroad taking a little travel time to a new destination – plan where you want to go, find international hangouts (if any), and live like a dharma bum if you so choose.
I guess we should all get jobs as domestic travel guides to appreciate it more.
Darrin DuFord said on April 16, 2009
This is a question I’ve often asked myself. Yes, I agree that it depends on one’s view of what travel is. From the point of view of an American, large expanses of America can be thought of as homogenized insofar as the burbs are pretty much all the same (by design, of course!) and I don’t generally count them as new experiences.
But even the burbs can hold some surprises, like when I rode around in a pickup truck with a SWAT team that was shooting nutria in the canals of the New Orleans suburbs.
Sure, the differences you can find when traveling in, say, rural Panama versus the average American neighborhood can be quite striking (invoking the Wow factor, perhaps). The differences as someone travels from US state to US state, or even from Queens ‘hood to another Queens ‘hood, might not be as large, but that does not mean that they are not as inherently interesting, depending on your outlook. One of Bryson’s most famous books, The Lost Continent, would not have been so popular if people didn’t enjoy reading about truly American experiences as he traveled around the country, complaining about the hegemony of strip malls and showcasing rural gas station attendants with warts on their faces. You could say he was given lemons, and he chose to make lemonade.
I think it’s all about how a traveler wants to tune in to a place. I agree with Koan that if you don’t look to learn, then all bets are off regardless of physical location.
Carlo Alcos said on April 16, 2009
This might be considered “responsible traveling” in these times…considering you’d be stimulating your own economy.
In Australia, they are giving anyone who’s filled out a tax return last year a large chunk of money – a stimulus package – to go and spend. The funny thing is, a lot of people have, in a survey, said with flights so cheap these days, they are going on vacation to another country!
These “stimulus packages” are BS! (I do like “free” money though)
Sabina Lohr said on April 15, 2009
Thanks for responding, Carlo and Eva! I’m akin to your Canadian countrymen, Eva. I hear people saying they want to explore all of the U.S. before they head overseas. And I think “Why? That’s boring.”
Eva Holland said on April 15, 2009
Great post and great comments so far, too!
I’m a big believer in domestic travel as important for learning, growing, etc. – for one thing because here in Canada at least, I don’t think we do nearly enough of it. There’s a big, diverse country to explore, and plenty of Canucks head straight for Europe without checking out their own (enormous) backyard first. Same goes for some Americans, I’m guessing!
I guess I don’t really think of myself as “traveling” if I am really just visiting relatives and not exploring their location (although I almost never do things that way anymore…) but I’ve also done plenty of domestic trips where I travel the same way I would overseas, and those definitely “count” in my book.
Carlo Alcos said on April 14, 2009
I agree with koan – it really depends on your definition of travel. I like to think of it as more than just physical movement, but a way of thinking and seeing the world. I don’t think there are different “degrees” of travel – that if you leave the country you are in some way traveling “more” than if you took the train across town to the Italian quarter.
“Wow” moments can be experienced anywhere. Something doesn’t have to be grand, or old, or “the biggest in the world” to have “wow” in it. It might take a little more thought and deliberation, but we can always find something of interest and learn anywhere we are, which I think is what travel is: learning.
Saying that, I guess I wouldn’t be telling people I was traveling when I go to Chinatown. But then that has to do more with other people’s definition of travel and me fitting into their paradigms so they don’t think I’m a weirdo.
I “travel” every time I log into Matador and read blogs and articles. Every time I write an article I am traveling, at least in my mind.
Sabina Lohr said on April 14, 2009
Thank you, you guys, for your thoughtful replies! I’ve been thinking that maybe another reason I’ve always considered overseas travel the only real travel is because I simply like exploring other countries more than my own…
Hal Amen said on April 13, 2009
Good question. I certainly wouldn’t knock States-centric travel–there are places where you can get those feelings of timeless grandeur, where you can be completely surrounded by a language other than English (my hometown of San Antonio is one of them), and where you can learn about new cultures.
All that aside, the feeling of domestic travel simply isn’t as weighty as that of globetrotting in my mind.
Dane Erickson said on April 13, 2009
Interesting question, and I have two main points as to why I believe that you don’t need to go international to be traveling.
First, according to your own definition, true ‘travel’ is going somewhere ‘to learn and experience and grow,’
I most certainly hope that you can learn and have new experiences and grow without needing to drastically change your physical location. New experiences and opportunities for growth meet us around every corner. I have learned as much hiking in the Rockies just a couple miles from my apartment as I have hiking the Alps and the Andes.
Second, one of your main requirements for that travel experience is dealing with a different culture.
Culture is an extremely broad term, but anthropologist currently basically try to define it as a way of thinking, the ‘why’ behind someone’s actions and behaviors (their actual definitions are usually about a page long, but this gets the gist of it).
You can absolutely experience a different way of life from your own without changing countries. No one can tell me that someone from New Jersey and someone from Texas have the same way of thinking. Some basics are the same, but some basics are the same no matter how different the cultures are. The only thing you aren’t dealing with is a different language, although even that is somewhat debatable. And if language is a defining point, then going to the UK or Australia or New Zealand wouldn’t be considered travel either.
En fin, I think that what defines travel isn’t so much the location as it is your own mindset. If you go somewhere with an open mind and open eyes, looking for opportunities to learn, you hardly have to leave your own city to have a culturally rich travel experience. If you don’t look to learn, you can visit the seven continents and all their peoples and never once ‘travel.’